Special Educational Needs

(asked on 28th June 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the school places available for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 14th July 2022

In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding forms part of the £2.6 billion we are investing between 2022 and 2025 and represents a significant, transformational investment in new high needs provision.

It will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools in the 2023/23 and 2024/25 academic years, as well as other specialist settings, and will also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. This will improve existing provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision (AP).

The department is also supporting local authorities through our ongoing delivery of new special and AP free schools. We have recently launched ‘How to Apply’ guidance for the 2022 Special and AP free school application waves. These waves are open to all local authorities in England. Guidance can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-free-school-applications and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-open-an-alternative-provision-free-school.

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